A Trying Mission
by Chamadarnya
Summary: Team 7 has finally been given a B-rank mission, under it's proper category! Excited as they are, it seems like they'll have two jounin with them! Everything is fine until the Akatsuki appear. Now they have to escape or defeat them, but something horrible happens... Sorry, I'm bad at summaries
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! I have been extremely silent for quite a while! Often times, I will look at a fanfic I'm writing and think: I should finish that.. I never do though.. Sorry~ Well, I'm back, but haven't wrote in an extremely long time, and it's been tough lately with a few personal losses.. I hope it doesn't reflect in my writing too much. Last time, I did a Fairy Tail fanfic, now it's Naruto! I'll try to work on more than one at once, so no one anime gets attention ;P I hope you enjoy this! It's really short! Sorry! I'll try to update as frequently as possible, but I'm in college now (le gasp, I'm old O.O) and I'll have more work to do!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters!**

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It was a beautiful day in Konoha, the leaves were dancing beautifully in the light breeze, and the sun gleamed off of the roof tops with a confidence that could only be seen. All was calm and peaceful, or so it would seem, and a voice broke the sudden calm of the air with a quick and sharp fury.

"Naruto! Hurry up!" Sakura yelled, her voice reaching far away.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Just give me a minute, okay?!" he responded, charging towards them.

"The first mission we've been given in months, and you take forever, idiot," Sasuke mumbled, annoyed with his teammate.

"Shut it, Sasuke!" Naruto responded, shoving his teammate to the side to get closer to the village gate.

"Okay, okay, that's enough you three. Is this how you want to act when you've been given a mission of such seriousness?" a calm voice asked behind them.

Sakura turned around, facing her sensei fully, and with excitement dancing in her eyes. Naruto turned around more slowly, trying to hide his own excitement that overcame him when he heard the word mission. Sasuke was the last to turn around, and without anticipation, he looked bored, even annoyed to be there.

"Sensei! You're not late?" Sakura asked, confusion and surprise hinting in her voice.

"How cold, I could never be late to such an important mission, especially when it's a Rank B mission," he responded, his voice beginning to trail near the end.

"Surprising," Sasuke muttered quietly.

"Okay you three, I've got a test for you, and it's short, since we'll be leaving so soon," Kakashi began, but was interrupted by Naruto.

"A test?! What do you mean a test! This is a B-rank mission! We can't have a test now! We need to go!" Naruto put in, trying to reason with Kakashi.

"We'll go, right after the test," he responded.

"Fine," Naruto mumbled dismayed, glaring angrily at the ground beneath his feet.

"Now that Naruto has calmed down," Kakashi began, looking around slowly, "I want to see if you've noticed, but it doesn't appear as if you have, can you tell me something after we've left the village and traveled for ten miles?"

"Wha-? But I thought you said that we were going to have the test _before_ leaving the village?" Sakura asked, confusion entering her mind.

"Well, I never said that directly…. However, it kinda is before, and kinda not.. But, either way, after we've left the village and traveled ten miles, I want you to tell me something, but I won't tell you what that something is," he answered, a smile forming beneath his mask.

"Whatever," Naruto said, and finished with, "Let's just go already!"

Kakashi laughed and began to lead the way out of the village. The three students began to take note of their surroundings, trying to find anything different, but began to fail to see anything out of the ordinary. Sakura felt she could feel a difference in something, but wasn't quite sure what, and Sasuke just kept watching the bushes, as if watching their shadows.

The ten miles went quickly, and soon enough Kakashi stopped and turned to face his students once more. His smile showed beneath his mask, but he said nothing, he just stood there. Naruto began to get annoyed, and was pacing around in small circles, waiting for Kakashi to speak.

"Have you got nothing?" Kakashi finally asked, breaking the crushing silence.

"I don't get what we were supposed to even be looking for!" Naruto complained, shooting his eyes over to Sasuke.

"Hmph, don't look at me idiot, I didn't notice anything too weird either, and if I did, I'd make sure not to tell you," he told him, glaring back at him.

"You two… no saving you I guess.. Well, I didn't notice anything too out of the ordinary, were we supposed to notice that the birds don't seem to be around like usual?" Sakura asked, trying to be confident in her answer.

"Huh? No birds?" Kakashi asked, looking around them for a few seconds. "Well, I mean, yeah, I guess that is true, huh… but, that's not what I wanted you to look for Sakura. Did you guys really not notice?"

"Nope," they answered in unison, just wanting to know what they were supposed to be noticing.

"I see, well then, come on out," he said, and looked like he was talking to the bushes.

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**I hope you enjoyed this! Sorry once more about how short it was! Hope it wasn't too bad! Thank you for reading~ I plan to have the next chapter out by: September 1st, 2013. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again everyone! Got in a writing mood today! Finished my homework quickly and at 2-ish. So, had plenty of time to think about this! An unexpected turn near the end of this one! I didn't expect it myself! I hope you enjoyed my last chapter! I hope this one is just as good if not better~ I really appreciate you reading :) I also hope this keeps you on the edge of your seat! :D **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters.**

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_"Huh? No birds?" Kakashi asked, looking around them for a few seconds. "Well, I mean, yeah, I guess that is true, huh… but, that's not what I wanted you to look for Sakura. Did you guys really not notice?"_

_"Nope," they answered in unison, just wanting to know what they were supposed to be noticing._

_"I see, well then, come on out," he said, and looked like he was talking to the bushes._

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all stood in pure shock as a woman climbed out of the bushes. She showed no fear as she walked calmly, and her posture told she was proud.

Kakashi studied their faces carefully as the woman walked closer. He chuckled in amusement as Sasuke's face quickly dropped emotion. Sakura stood with a shock that had taken over her body and froze her in place. Naruto only seemed to be getting angrier with every step she took towards him.

Despite this, their chakra unwillingly snuck out and revealed the terror they felt. Sakura regained her composure as the woman suddenly stopped in her tracks. Naruto turned away furiously, seeming to have some resentment towards her.

The woman had hardly any clothes on, but Kakashi seemed not to even pay attention. Her overcoat laid loosely over her body in a way that only covered what was necessary. Her waist sported a thick brown-orange belt that stayed where shorts should. She shin guards on, they looked uncomfortable to the genin.

Sakura slowly raised a finger, her mouth having gaped open once more, and said, "You! Y-You're Anko Mitarashi aren't you?!"

"Anko Mitarashi? Whose that!?" Naruto piped up, seeming to have forgotten his anger.

Sasuke let out an annoyed click of his tongue as he looked at Naruto. "That's the proctor of the second exam, idiot. Remember, The Forest of Death? The woman who cut your cheek? Isn't that why you looked so angry?"

"No! I was angry cause Kakashi-sensei didn't tell us we had someone else coming with us! Hey! You mean that's the freak who cut my cheek?!"

"Freak?" she seemed amused by the words Naruto spoke. "You're a jinchuuriki and you have the nerve to call me a freak?"

Sakura shut her eyes quickly in response to the stabbing response she had given.

Naruto hissed angrily in response, "At least I didn't have that pale monster snake-thing as a sensei!"

Kakashi's eyes widened as he spoke these words, they were like taboo around her. She hated her past more than anything. She had felt betrayed by him, yet felt glad she was able to escape and live. The words were like daggers to the wounds in her heart. Anko could not keep herself quiet.

"Pale monster snake-thing? I see… so you look down on me because Orochimaru was my sensei? Because I had to listen to him? Because I once trusted him with my life? I'll make you pay for that you ignorant brat!"

Sakura watched helplessly as her teammate was suddenly tackled by the fast jonin. She felt like screaming at the older woman for attacking, but couldn't blame her. She understood the rage perfectly. Naruto had a mouth that didn't know when to stop, she could understand it.

"Stop!" Naruto screamed from underneath the woman.

A flurry of kicks and punches flew through the air as Naruto tried to counter. Within a matter of seconds he was on the ground squirming in pain. She had planted a kick squarely in his gut.

"Alright, that's enough." Kakashi had stepped forward once Naruto hit the ground.

"Seriously, what's wrong with him?! Naruto just about got beaten to a bloody pulp and all he did was stand there? Some sensei he is," Sakura hissed under her breath.

"What about me being a sensei?" Kakashi asked looking over at her.

She put on a cheeky smile and answered, "Nothing."

Kakashi stuck his hand out to his student and pulled him from the dirt. Naruto looked rougher than he ever had before. Blood was spilling over his lips and a hole was where her foot had landed. His hair was messier than before and he had bruises forming on his face.

"How much chakra did she put into her kick to get that to happen?" Sakura gasped as she examined her teammate.

"Hardly any," Kakashi answered swiftly.

"What? How's that possible than?" Sasuke asked, suddenly intrigued.

"This is the level of a jonin. The level of the proctor of the second exam. Don't take her lightly you three. Just because she doesn't seem like much, doesn't mean a thing."

They all three nodded in embarrassment as their assumptions had shown through. Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the side, prompting him to apologize.

"Sorry," Naruto muttered, barely audible.

"That's weird, I thought I heard a fly buzzing around my ear just now," Anko retorted. Her face full of anger, proving that his silent apology wasn't going to be enough.

"I said I'm sorry! Geez!"

"That's better."

"Well, it's time to get a move on," Kakashi hastily said, before another fight broke out between them.

"I agree," Sasuke curtly added.

Naruto shot him a harsh glare before turning towards Kakashi. Kakashi had already begun to walk away, Anko by his side.

"Hey, you don't think?" Naruto snickered as he walked between Sakura and Sasuke.

"What?" Sakura asked, glancing in his direction with a curious look.

"Don't tell me you don't see it!" he answered, poking his finger towards the two jonin.

Sasuke sighed in annoyance and gave a quick jab to Naruto. "Don't be dumb, idiot. This is a mission. It would make sense that the two jonin are walking together. Don't think too much of it."

Sakura gave a long confused looked to her teammates. It seemed as if they thought the same thoughts and she was on the wrong tract. She tried to pinpoint what they were discussing, but nothing came to mind.

It quickly hit her after a few more seconds of thinking: something was off.

"Hey, it is weird, Naruto's right." Sakura had pulled her teammates closer as she whispered in a tone that she thought the sharp ears of the jonin wouldn't pick up on.

"See! Sakura agrees!" Naruto gloated quickly.

"Idiot, I don't think she knows what we're talking about."

"Ignoring that comment," Sakura said with spite in her voice. She continued, "Two jonin are on this mission with us. Sure, one is sensei.. But, why isn't one of them walking behind of us and the other in front? This is a B-ranked mission after all! We could be attacked at any time from any angle, and we are just genin. It'd make more sense for one to be ahead and the other behind! Why are they walking ahead of us?"

"Sakura, you make a good point," Sasuke commented, trying to change the fact he had just said it was normal for the jonin to walk ahead of them.

"I don't get it," Naruto said, his simple mind showing.

"Never mind, it's got to be nothing," Sakura commented. "Now, what were you two getting at earlier?"

"I was trying to say that sensei must like that snake woman! He's walking so close to her! And! He didn't come to my defense immediately, but instead just stood to the side!" Naruto answered.

"Dummy! He didn't aid you because it was your fault that she attacked you!" Sasuke answered sharply.

Naruto grumbled in defense, but said nothing. Sakura merely thought about the thought for a few moments. Kakashi and Anko together didn't seem too bad to her, yet this situation left a bad taste in her mouth, something was wrong.

"Are you three coming?" Kakashi asked turning around, having noticed they were falling behind.

"Coming!" they shouted in unison. It appeared as if he hadn't heard the team talking about the two of them.

Sakura was the first to move forward, but was stopped dead in her tracks. She suddenly couldn't move.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted from behind her, he acted as if something were happening to her.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Sakura!" a voice shouted from behind them, footsteps were getting closer.

Sakura listened hard to the steps. There were two people. They were running with all of their strength, even adding chakra to the steps to increase their speed. They were rushing?

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**Yay! Done with that Chapter :D Hope you liked it! A bit of KakashixAnko ;D I like those two together, don't know why... Well! I hope that she wasn't too out of character... She doesn't really have that much time in manga and anime, so we get the overview of her personality.. I really hope none of them seemed too out of character, I'm trying to think, "Naruto" here. Thanks once more for reading! Since I got this chapter out so early, maybe the next one will be done by the end of this week as well! See you next time~  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi hi! Thank you for reading the previous chapters! I hope you are enjoying this story so far :D I really am enjoying writing it! So many things are happening, I didn't expect it! This chapter is a bit longer than the other two... I hope I don't bore you with it... Also, I hope it isn't confusing.. Thank you once more for reading the previous chapters! Enjoy!  
Yay, my first reviewer! Wandwaving101: I'm glad you enjoyed that! Hehe, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! It should answer that cliff-hanger! I didn't realize it was much of one though =^^= Thanks for reviewing :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters.**

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"Sensei!" Sakura heard Naruto shout.

His words caused confusion to swirl around in her head. She was looking at both Kakashi and Anko, yet they didn't move when Naruto spoke. Moreover, Kakashi seemed to look in horror and disgust.

"Hurry!" she heard Sasuke shout.

Naruto was staring wildly at Kakashi and Anko as they ran towards Team 7. Sasuke seemed more even headed. His expression had changed from shock to confusion in seconds. He wouldn't let his confusion get the best of him though, he wasn't like Naruto.

"Sasuke! Sakura's trapped! Hurry, free her!" Kakashi yelled as he came closer to the team, Anko by his side.

"Wait! Sensei! What are you doing over there?!" Naruto screamed, his confusion getting worse.

Sakura did nothing but listen to the commotion. She wasn't able to make any sense of the noise at all. They seemed to be claiming that Kakashi and another person were behind her, yet they were standing in front of her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat. Bewildered, she tried again. "S-sen-sei," she chocked out. Sakura couldn't process why her voice wasn't working well.

"Sakura! Listen! You have to move!" Kakashi yelled at her.

She recognized his voice, but the mouth beneath the mask wasn't moving. At least, not on the Kakashi that was standing in front of her.

"It's no use," Sasuke commented, having been frozen in fear for a few seconds after realizing they were following imposters. "She's caught, but it doesn't seem to be… never mind."

"Her mind probably went into shock," Anko commented, finally speaking.

This caused Sakura more confusion than before. Anko's mouth didn't move either. The Anko in front of her just stood there, staring coldly at whoever was behind her.

"Her mind is in shock?" Naruto asked dumbly. "Wait! Why are we just talking!? Why aren't we trying to get her to snap out of it!?"

"Idiot! If we move, Sakura dies!" Sasuke spit at him.

"Why?! There isn't a weapon at her at all!" Naruto responded.

"This is a dangerous situation. There is only one or two people who could mimic Kakashi-sensei and Anko so easily," Sasuke explained, grabbing a kunai out of his pouch.

"We'll see if it's a genjutsu first," Kakashi spoke, moving his fingers to form a release sign. "Release!"

Nothing happened. Sakura continued to stand there, staring forward at the two imposters. The Fake Anko, as Sakura had decided to label her, moved not an inch.

"Summoning jutsu!" Anko hissed from behind Sakura.

Sakura felt the waves of chakra moving across the ground before a mass of chakra appeared. She tried to put a shape to what she felt, but it was of no use.

"Aaa!" Naruto screamed, jumping back from his position.

Anko now stood atop of an enormous snake. Kakashi just chuckled beneath his breath as the Fake Anko stood in amazement. Sasuke stood bewildered, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"You can summon snakes?" the Fake Anko suddenly spoke.

When she did so, Sakura noticed that the voice was off. It was unnoticeable unless you heard the Real Anko talk first. The teeth were also noticeably sharp and jagged, unlike a normal set of teeth.

"Drop the act," Anko hissed towards her imposter.

Kakashi stared at the two imposters. It was clear they weren't really them, but it was enough to trick the untrained eye of a genin. At least, the eye of a genin who wasn't paying attention to details.

"I'm surprised," Kakashi commented, looking over at the team once more.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Surprised that Sakura didn't realize that they weren't us. Or that they snuck under Sasuke's nose as well. Naruto, you should definitely have noticed a changed behavior."

Sasuke twitched at Kakashi's sharp criticism, Naruto simply stood defiantly. Sakura tried to turn to face her teammates and her actual sensei, but her body did not let her move.

"Show yourselves," Anko said as she motioned for her summoning to move in.

"Don't be so disagreeable," the Fake Anko answered, moving forward itself.

Anko landed quickly on the ground and shouted, "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

The Fake Anko quickly jumped out of the way and threw shuriken while she recovered from the jutsu. The imposter Kakashi took the advantage of the attention on the two of them to move forward. He picked Sakura up and moved back to where he previously stood.

Sakura had now figured out that these weren't ordinary imposters, and they were far too skilled to be civilians. She quickly realized her capture, but to no avail, she could not move. Her voice was entirely gone and she felt powerless in the hands of her captor.

"Sakura!" Naruto was the first to notice her missing body from where it had last stood. "That's it! Tell us who you are, right now!"

"Hmph," the Fake Kakashi laughed to himself. He set Sakura down to the ground, and walked forward to stand aside the Fake Anko.

"Shall we?" the Fake Anko's voice had gotten noticeably gruffer, but had a twisted tone to it. Imposter Kakashi nodded his agreement.

Kakashi, Anko, Sasuke, and Naruto stood staring as a cloud of smoke surrounded the two imposters. Kakashi was the first to see through the smoke, with Anko quickly following in recognition.

Before Naruto or Sasuke could get a clear look, the giant summoned snake was flying at the pair. Kakashi had raised his headband and was charging behind the snake with a Chidori ready.

"Who are they?" Naruto asked Sasuke, who was looking around for their teammate.

"I don't kn…," Sasuke suddenly stopped talking and his eyes grew wide. The chakra was familiar to him, and his face twisted in anger.

Naruto looked on in confusion as Sasuke's face went from blank to contempt in a matter of seconds. "Who?" Naruto asked once more.

"Uchiha… Itachi.."

Naruto thought for a few moments, not seeming to process the name. Sasuke continued to stare forward while he gave his teammate time to think.

"Ah!" Naruto seemed to have the name click in his head. "That the guy who killed your family?"

"Yes, my older brother, Itachi."

"That's not nice, Itachi's not alone," a gruff voice spoke from the smoke.

"How'd they avoid Sensei's attack?!" Naruto asked in shock as he looked over to see Anko and Kakashi standing still.

"Sharingan," Sasuke answered.

"Very good, little brother," Itachi spoke, having undid the transformation.

"Who are you?! Fish-freak!" Naruto taunted to Itachi's partner.

Kisame promptly turned his attention the blond boy. His smile widened as he stared at him, his unnaturally razor sharp teeth showing. Sasuke and Naruto backed up in fear as the man began to walk towards them. He stopped when Itachi put his hand on the shoulder of the man.

"Kisame, there is no reason to go after two children," he commented with an expressionless voice.

"Very well, Itachi."

"So your name is Kisame," Sasuke commented.

"Sensei, snap out of it!" Naruto screamed, realizing neither Kakashi nor Anko had moved since the smoke cleared.

"Genjutsu, it has to be," Sasuke spoke again, looking at the jonin.

"Genjutsu?! Let's get them out of it then!" Naruto responded.

"Not that easy."

"Seems as if my foolish little brother isn't quite as foolish anymore," Itachi commented, chuckling to himself.

Sasuke growled in anger as he looked towards Itachi once more. Naruto tried distracting him by turning his attention back towards the caught jonin. Naruto couldn't understand the situation, but he was trying desperately to think of a way to save Sakura.

Sakura watched with horror as Kakashi and Anko stood frozen. If it was in terror or something else, she didn't know. Soon, within minutes of them not moving, they both fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Anko seemed to worse off than Kakashi had been, but both seem tortured.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled, charging towards the two fallen jonin.

"Don't be an idiot!" Sasuke warned, grabbing him and pulling him to a halt.

Kakashi stood up slowly, gasping for breath as he regained his balance. He looked up again, but didn't look straight at Itachi as he had done previously.

"Heh, Itachi, it seems as if you wanted something out of my precious students. Seeing as you disguised yourself as me and had Kisame join you later on. What is it you want?" he asked, staring at Kisame now.

Itachi chuckled and picked Sakura up once more. She tried to fight, but her muscles felt physically strained and exhausted, she could not move.

"This young girl, has extremely powerful chakra control. Her medical ninjutsu could come in handy as well. She seems to have high intelligence, enough to rival the Nara clan. Who wouldn't want to have such a powerful girl under them?" Itachi explained, draping the girl over his shoulder like a piece of cloth.

"Itachi! Give her back, this instant!" Sasuke demanded, anger seething in the undertones of his voice.

"Foolish little brother, you could never hope to defeat us. Not even two jonin are enough to stop us."

Anko had stood up once more. She was breathing heavily and sweat poured off of her in response to the torture she had received from Itachi from his genjutsu. She eyed the feet of Itachi, not daring to look into his eyes again.

She weaved hand signs quickly, but found to her dismay that her chakra had been mostly drained from the two attacks.

"Orochimaru," she hissed as she fell to her knees, grasping her neck tightly.

"Orochimaru?" Itachi questioned, looking at the young jonin with curious eyes.

Kakashi looked around quickly. They were outside of the village, but surely three S-rank criminals hadn't slipped past defenses.

"Heh," a hoarse voice answered from the bushes.

"Intent on the fight at the present, they seemed not to have noticed you, Lord Orochimaru," another voice said.

"Kabuto!" Naruto screamed, looking in the direction of the bushes.

Kabuto stood suddenly from the bushes, sporting the same sinister smile he always had. He stared at Naruto, but his glare was shot right through him. Orochimaru was short to follow him out of the bushes, his mouth turned upwards in a cruel smile.

"Anko, my dear pupil, are you that glad to see me? To notice my presence before the others, I applaud you. Don't you enjoy being praised by me?" Orochimaru taunted as he walked closer to the team.

"Shut it!" she snarled at him, anger evident in her eyes.

He cackled before he turned his attention to Sasuke. Kabuto joined his side once more, assessing the situation before them.

"So, Kabuto, what have we walked in to?" he asked, amusement playing in his voice.

"Lord Orochimaru, it appears as if the Akatsuki are trying to kidnap Team 7. It also seems to be that Anko has used too much chakra, so her curse mark is reacting. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki from the Akatsuki are here. Other than that, I have no clue, Lord Orochimaru," he responded, pushing his glasses up as he talked.

"I see," he answered. "Well, we'll just get what we came for and leave.. But, with the Akatsuki here, our plans seem to have been changed unknowingly. Kabuto, let's go."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

"I'll leave you with a warning, Anko. That seal of yours, I'll make sure you suffer. I'll also take Sasuke with me soon, so don't forget it. I'll come pick him up once the Akatsuki leave. Itachi here would give me trouble," Orochimaru said as he walked away.

Kisame glanced at Itachi who had changed his emotionless face to anger as he watched Orochimaru walk away.

"_I want nothing more than to rip that man to shreds," _Itachi thought as he watched Orochimaru walk away.

Itachi's face quickly turned back to it's normal state. He looked at the genin slung over his shoulder and turned away from the shaken team.

"Kisame, it's time for us to go," Itachi stated, beginning to walk away.

The remaining members of Team 7 could do nothing but stand and watch as Itachi carried their kunoichi friend away. Anko, still on the ground in pain, could only watch as well. Kakashi looked away as they disappeared into the mist.

Before they got away entirely, Naruto screamed, "Sakura! We're going to get you back! Don't worry!"

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**Phew, it's over now! I hope I kept you interested! If not.. I'm sorry :( It is really long and I hope it doesn't drag anywhere! Please tell me if it does, I'll try to change it so it isn't as boring! Thank you for reading this very long chapter! I'll try to have the next chapter out soon!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi again! This took me a couple of days to get around to! I wrote this in a few hours, on and off. I have a bit more stuff that is "off plot" in this one! However, I feel it is necessary to set the relationship up between those four. Knowing how they act around each other is essential, plus, a bit of other pairings helps 3. Yes... Now, I hope this isn't too long or boring for you! Enjoy~**

**Shadowlove'scookies: I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter :) I hope you like this one as well! **

**Wandwaving101: Yay! Glad you liked the last chapter as well! ^_^ Thank you for your reviews! Hope this will keep you interested as well!**

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_"Kisame, it's time for us to go," Itachi stated, beginning to walk away._

_The remaining members of Team 7 could do nothing but stand and watch as Itachi carried their kunoichi friend away. Anko, still on the ground in pain, could only watch as well. Kakashi looked away as they disappeared into the mist._

_Before they got away entirely, Naruto screamed, "Sakura! We're going to get you back! Don't worry!"_

* * *

_~Sakura~_

Sakura watched in despair as her team got smaller and smaller. She wanted to scream and kill her captors. However, her muscles were still unresponsive and her voice gone. She couldn't put a reason as to why nothing was working, it was making her angry.

"Confused as to why you can't move, little girl?" a deep voice asked, it was smooth and held no emotion.

She couldn't give a response, but she felt like ripping to shreds the man who had kidnapped her.

"Heh, Itachi, you know as well as I do that she can't answer."

"You're right, Kisame. Shall I give her the reason?"

"Wait until we're back at the hide-out. We tell her now, she might figure out how to get free from it."

Itachi only nodded in agreement, regaining his silent composure. Sakura thought hard about possibilities that could lead to her not moving at all. Nothing came to mind, and all she could think of was ripping Itachi's throat out when she could move once more.

"_I hate this man, more than anything right now! Oh, he'll be sorry when I can move again! I'll kill him! I'll kill his partner too!"_ Sakura thought angrily as she tried to argue and fight back.

_~Team 7~_

"How could we have let that happen?!" Naruto cried out in despair. It had finally hit him that Sakura was gone, and the chances of finding her were slim.

"It couldn't be helped," Sasuke answered.

"Sasuke's right Naruto," Kakashi spoke, stopping Naruto from turning around to hit his teammate. "Even if we would've tried to fight back, the Akatsuki are on a different level than us. It takes all of our energy to fight just one of them. With two, we were outmatched. There was no hope of rescuing her."

Naruto looked down in anger, trying to figure out a way to save his teammate.

"Get stronger," Anko suggested, finally being able to talk through the pain.

"Sensei is stronger than us! Yet, he couldn't do anything!" Naruto countered, pure anger filling his voice. "You're stronger than us too!"

"It was unfortunate, but Orochimaru was around. Even if he wasn't, I have a limit. I can't go over that limit, and if I do, something bad happens. You don't want to know what happens." Anko had looked away while explaining, obviously angered by her inability to fight.

"I want to know!" Naruto shouted, figuring that the jonin was hiding something.

Kakashi glanced at Anko, who now had her glare facing Naruto. Sasuke looked between the jonin and his teammate quickly. He felt as if something was wrong, but couldn't put his finger on it.

"Now, now. Naruto, don't push for it. Anko's right, you don't want to know," Kakashi said, trying to cool the hot-headed genin off.

"I don't care what you say! She's hiding something! And that something might have helped us get Sakura back!" Naruto argued.

"Naruto, I think you're pushing it, I'd stop," Sasuke said quietly, eyeing Anko carefully.

The jonin seemed full of rage as she watched Naruto. A smile was playing on her lips, but it was one full of menace. She seemed to be challenging him to ask her once more. 'Only one more time', her eyes were saying.

"What do you know, Sasuke?! Don't you want to know why this jonin wasn't able to stop them?! She was the student of Orochimaru at that! One of the three Legendary Sannin! The one that turned evil at that!" Naruto countered, not heeding the warnings.

"That does it, you brat!" Anko screamed, standing up.

Naruto shrunk back from the sudden movement of the jonin. He had been challenging her, and she was angry.

"Idiot!" Sasuke said, tugging Naruto away from in front of the angry jonin.

Kakashi launched forward and caught Anko as she began to throw a kunai at Naruto. She was yelling at him, but Naruto couldn't hear a thing. Kakashi had muffled her by pulling her close to him. He didn't let her go until her arms dropped from the position they were in.

When he let her go, she looked angry, but upset as well. Naruto felt a pang of guiltiness surge through him as he watched the emotionally strong jonin break down because of him.

"Apologize," Sasuke muttered to him.

"I'm going to, sheesh. I'm sorry.. I didn't know you were going to get that mad," Naruto said to her.

Kakashi looked between them and sighed when Anko made no movements to say anything. He walked over to her once more and sat down beside her. Naruto watched in interest as Kakashi comforted her.

"Now that that's through with," Kakashi began. "We can focus on getting Sakura back."

"Yeah," Naruto and Sasuke agreed.

Anko nodded her head and listened as Kakashi began to talk of plans. The longest plan would take at least three years to complete, but had the highest probability of success. The shortest would take a couple of hours of preparation and had the least chance of succeeding.

"Let's do this!" they shouted together.

"Shortest plan! Here we come!" Naruto announced.

Anko had different plans when she said, "The most successful possibility should be taken!"

Again, they argued.

~_Sakura_~

Sakura's eyes grew large in awe and terror as they approached the hide-out. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. On the outside, it looked like a mere rock blocking an old cave. However, on the inside, it was intricately made. Seemingly thousands of tunnels lead to somewhere she never wanted to find out.

"You brought the girl?" a mysterious voice asked from in front of them.

Sakura looked up to see what she thought was an illusion. There was no physical body there, but the outline of one. It's eyes were unparalleled, even Itachi's couldn't compare. The Rinnengan. That was what Tsunade had told her about once, a powerful eye, even stronger than the Sharingan or the Byakugan.

"Yeah, what next?" Itachi asked, throwing Sakura down to the ground.

Fear swept over her when they threw a blanket over her head. She knew for sure they would torture her for information. The feeling only got worse when she heard murmurs and felt herself getting carried away. She didn't want to know what was at the end of the walk.

* * *

**Woo~! Chapter Four: Complete! Hope you liked it! I wonder who is carrying her and where they are taking her... Ah well! A bit more KakashixAnko, but still not very much... Naruto is hardheaded as usual, dumb boy, is he trying to die? Yay~ Hope you enjoyed! Thank you for your reviews (once more)! I'll try to update sooner, since it's Labor Day weekend and I have a long weekend ahead of me! **


	5. Sorry

**This is not a chapter, but an apology-type letter. I have not posted in a long time. I am really, really sorry for that! I expected to get a lot done (especially since it was Labor Day weekend and I had lots of free time and I also really enjoy writing this)! However, somehow or another, I ended up getting distracted and not writing a single thing! I haven't wrote it for a long time, and I'm afraid that I've upset you! I hope I haven't! I'm going to be pushing another chapter out soon! I promise! Pinky promise! I have a lot (7 hours) of free time tomorrow, so I'm going to slam this story out of my head if I have to. I will, WILL, get the next chapter out soon and will keep it going! I am terribly sorry for all of this! I hate that I've done it! Sorry once more!**

**~Chamadarnya**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Okay! Chapter Five has successfully been wrote! I hope y'all like it :D Thank you for your encouraging reviews ^_^ Thank you Silverflower! I will do my best :D and I'm glad you think it's great, leafstone! :) So, without further adieu! I present to you, Chapter five!  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Naruto or anything of Naruto. This is my own idea, thank you!  
**

* * *

_Sakura looked up to see what she thought was an illusion. There was no physical body there, but the outline of one. Its eyes were unparalleled, even Itachi's couldn't compare. The Rinnengan. That was what Tsunade had told her about once, a powerful eye, even stronger than the Sharingan or the Byakugan._

_"Yeah, what next?" Itachi asked, throwing Sakura down to the ground._

_Fear swept over her when they threw a blanket over her head. She knew for sure they would torture her for information. The feeling only got worse when she heard murmurs and felt herself getting carried away. She didn't want to know what was at the end of the walk._

* * *

~Sakura~

After what felt like hours of being carried, she felt herself set down upon something soft. The blanket was removed from her head when she was secured and unable to move once she regained her ability to move.

Sakura glared at the man and hoped he would understand her anger towards him. His emotionless stare wasn't giving anything away. The longer she looked, the more likely she felt it was that she would become trapped in a genjustsu.

"Your medical ninjutsu will be of use to us. You will help us whether you want to or not," Itachi spoke in an even and commanding tone.

Sakura felt her voice coming back to her, and she choked out, "No."

The response came as a surprise to the elder ninja. He had assumed the effect would last much longer and she wouldn't be able to move or speak for at least a day. Kisame snickered in amusement at her answer.

In a cold, heartless tone, Kisame said, "Little girl, do you actually think you have a choice in what you do?"

Sakura moved her glare to him and watched him as he walked in a small circle. His sharp teeth showed and gleamed in the dim lighting. Without drawing attention, she flinched when she noticed his teeth. It was unnatural and it scared her.

Itachi looked at the girl and suddenly moved towards her without warning. Sakura gasped at the sudden closed distance between the two of them.

~Team 7~

"Okay, so we're going to locate the Akatsuki hideout?" Naruto asked, twitching in excitement at the idea.

"Yeah, but, we can't get too close. If we do, they'll notice us. It's also highly likely that they don't even have her there," Kakashi explained quietly.

They nodded their agreement as they thought; there had to be a way to find the hideout.

"Where and when are we starting to look?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know," Kakashi answered honestly, scratching his head.

"Let's try to find a trail, it's only been a day, and it hasn't rained. Maybe the footprints are still there," a voice said behind the team.

Kakashi turned around to face Anko, and nodded at the idea. Then he thought about what she had said. "I'm sure Itachi wouldn't be so careless as to leave behind footprints," Kakashi pointed out.

"There's no point in not trying," Anko countered.

"She's right sensei! Any lead would be better than none," Naruto agreed, sounding smart in that instance.

Sasuke looked at him in shock, but quickly composed himself once more. He nodded his own agreement as Kakashi watched the two of them.

"Very well, we'll go. Let me go tell Lady Tsunade about this. I'll tell her that this is a rescue mission, and I'm sure she would be more than willing," Kakashi said as he started to walk towards the Hokage's building.

Once Kakashi was out of sight, Anko turned her attention to the two boys. "Listen here, we're not going to let you out of our sight. Not after what happened. An Anbu will also be coming along, this is to make sure that nobody is kidnapped, again."

"We can take care of ourselves! Besides, it's not like we have a specific mission! Which, we failed the mission, didn't we?" Naruto argued, until he realized that they never completed their mission.

"I don't know, you'd have to ask Tsunade," she answered, seeming to calm down a bit.

"We probably did, idiot," Sasuke put in, insulting Naruto quickly.

"It's not fair! It's not our fault that the Akatsuki appeared! Why'd they take Sakura anyways?! They don't have any reason to do that!" Naruto shouted as he began to rant.

Sasuke shook his head and hit Naruto on his head. "Well, now that they have her, it's best to get her back! We don't need her leaking valuable information about Konoha to them!"

"Is that all you care about?! Is her leaking information to them?! What about that she is our teammate!? We need her back because she is our teammate! Not because she might leak information!" Naruto argued, Sasuke was bringing him to his boiling point.

"They'll probably get information out of her easily," Sasuke began. "Besides, she's just a weakling. A crybaby. She's no good. It'd be better if she killed herself before she leaked information on us."

Naruto was about to go off on Sasuke once more, lecturing him about how they are friends and teammates, but Kakashi had walked up.

"Sasuke, you know very well that you are a team. Because you are a team, you should work together and be friends. She won't leak any information, she's stronger than that. Give her credit Sasuke, she's very strong mentally," Kakashi scolded Sasuke once he had stopped walking.

"Fine," Sasuke answered, annoyance in his voice.

On those words, Team Seven began their hunt for clues. They left the village with Anko by their side and an unknown Anbu following them.

~Sakura~

"I'm still learning, and I don't know very much," came Sakura's harsh answer to them when they told her she was going to be healing them.

"Still fighting it?" Kisame asked, looking bored from a dimly lit corner of the room.

Itachi had stared her down when he had moved closer earlier, but did nothing more. Kisame, however, was under the impression that she had been trapped in his genjustsu.

Sakura did not answer the sharp-toothed man, but simply stared at the lamp on the wall. Itachi had picked a seat on the bed after he moved her to the floor, attempting to make her uncomfortable.

"Itachi, how much longer do we have to watch the brat?" Kisame asked, looking to his partner.

"Only until we get orders of where to put her. For now, we have to keep an eye on her," Itachi answered in an even tone.

Kisame looked away once more, then asked, "Can we at least have some fun with her?"

Itachi glanced at the man, and responded, "As long as we don't kill her or severely injure her, it's fine."

Kisame smiled as he stood up and walked towards the girl. Sakura shivered in fright as he got ever closer. The size difference scared her, but she didn't want to show her fear too much. She shut her eyes, scared as to what might happen to her.

* * *

**Well, that was it! I hope y'all liked it! It might have felt to be a bit of a dragging read for a bit there, and I hope the way Sasuke acted didn't seem too out of character from what I wrote earlier! Thank you for reading ^_^ I'll try to get the next chapter out sometime soon! Thank ya! :D Until next time!  
**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Thank you for being patient! ^_^ I hope this chapter pleases you :) I didn't write for a few days because I couldn't figure out where I wanted to go with this story! As I started writing, it began to take over, and I did nothing but the manual aspect! Now it's going in a whole new direction I would have never guessed! Well, enough of my ramblings!  
**

**Review responses:  
**

**Guest: I'm glad you liked the last chapter :) I hope you see and like this one as well ^_^**

**Guest #2: I don't think a day was too long of a wait :D Yes! Happy Day Late Birthday Naruto!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any of the characters!**

* * *

_"Itachi, how much longer do we have to watch the brat?" Kisame asked, looking to his partner._

_"Only until we get orders of where to put her. For now, we have to keep an eye on her," Itachi answered in an even tone._

_Kisame looked away once more, then asked, "Can we at least have some fun with her?"_

_Itachi glanced at the man, and responded, "As long as we don't kill her or severely injure her, it's fine."_

_Kisame smiled as he stood up and walked towards the girl. Sakura shivered in fright as he got ever closer. The size difference scared her, but she didn't want to show her fear too much. She shut her eyes, scared as to what might happen to her._

* * *

Sakura tried hard to ignore the taunts of the large man. Each time he commented on her pink hair, she wanted to scream at him about his blue skin. The only reason she didn't was because she knew it would only end in something bad happening to her.

"Itachi, the girl is no fun, no matter how I taunt, she doesn't respond," Kisame complained.

"Hm," came Itachi's detached response.

Sakura tore her eyes open when she heard a ripping noise. She glanced down in fear to see that her shirt was no longer whole. Kisame had taken the privilege to attempt to embarrass her. She stayed quiet, the only expression on her face was one of pride.

"I expected the girl's face to match her hair," Kisame commented to himself.

Itachi had begun to glance over at her, but when was unknown to Sakura. She met his gaze, but did not let fear enter her eyes when she realized he still had his Sharingan activated. After what felt like forever of staring at each other, Itachi suddenly moved.

"Kisame, it's getting late, I think it's time for us to go to sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow," Itachi commented dully, throwing a blanket onto Sakura's head.

"Hn, fine. Little girl, you just got saved," Kisame warned, his tone becoming ever more threatening as his sentence continued.

Sakura felt relieved when she watched Kisame exit the room, but the feeling dissolved when Itachi stayed inside.

"Surprised?" Itachi asked, his voice taking on a lighter tone than before.

Sakura dared not respond, but instead only stared at him.

"This is, after all, my room," Itachi informed her.

Her eyes widened at the new information. She began to reason with herself, telling herself that she would be taken to another room. That she would probably be thrown into a jail cell.

"You're not going anywhere," his calm voice answered her unspoken questions.

"I'm not?" Sakura gasped, speaking fully for the first time.

"I see it has entirely worn off now."

"Yes, it has. What was that?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about. Only a temporary tool to be used in case we happen upon somebody like yourself," he explained.

"Jerk, I wanted to know. Now answer this: Where are you going to put me to stay for the night before you torture me tomorrow?" she asked coldly to the Uchiha.

"You are sleeping in here, of course. And you are not going to be tortured. That would ruin the whole idea of capturing you. You have studied medical ninjutsu, not much, but enough. We're going to refine your techniques here, and of course, force Tsunade to teach you," Itachi answered.

"How are you going to force her?"

"We'll 'return' you to the village, unharmed. Of course, you'll be the only one who knows that after you learn more from Tsunade, you'll be taken back by us."

"If you do that! I'll tell!" Sakura suddenly blurted out, not thinking about how she could've used it to escape the grasp of the Akatsuki.

"Yes, we know you would tell. This is why we are going to break you before we return you. That way you will never speak a word of the plan and you'll return easily," he told her, his voice still as warm as it was when he first spoke with Kisame out of the room.

"You'll never break me," came her sturdy response, voice unwavering.

"Very well."

Itachi pointed her to the bed, and told her to lie down and go to sleep. She felt like she didn't have much of a choice in whether she could sleep right then or not. Sakura did as she was told and went to sleep promptly, unknowing that Itachi sleep beside her.

Sakura was awoken by having water poured onto her head. It was a very rude awakening, but it did the trick. However, she was soaked.

"Uggh," came her grunt as she stood and attempted to ring out her hair.

"Aw, is the little girl cold?" Kisame asked quickly, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the room.

"Where's Itachi?" Sakura demanded, and then realized what she had said.

Thoughts flooded into her mind from all directions and spaces. She couldn't figure out why she demanded to know where he was. He mattered not to her. She began to wonder if it was because of his gentle voice from the night before. Sakura shook her head in frustration as Kisame registered her question and laughed.

"I don't think Itachi will be the one you want to see. He'd use his Sharingan to trap you, then get you to do whatever we wanted, you don't want that, do you?"

Sakura ignored the question, but began to wonder exactly where the man was taking her. She looked around wildly, trying to pinpoint her location, but to no avail. Every turn they took and every hall they went down looked the same to her. The only difference, if any, was the size of the flames on the torches.

As she was admiring the complexity of the hideout, she was suddenly pushed forward. She fell to the ground from the sudden movement, and looked up to see why that had happened. Her eyes grew large as she realized that she was in a room where a meeting was taking place.

"Got her," Kisame told them as he walked to his spot.

"Very good, we'll now begin to break her," the leader said cruelly.

Sakura didn't like the sound of that, and fear entered her once more as she saw the group moving towards her. She desperately searched for Itachi in the crowd, but he was nowhere to be seen. She felt tears beginning to fall as fear overtook her. The group was right on top of her, many of them welding weapons.

Sakura screamed. She screamed loud enough that she thought her eardrums would burst. It didn't stop the group from moving closer, and it only agitated them more.

~Team 7~

"Where are we?" Naruto asked, his arms casually behind his head.

"Outside of the Leaf's control, that's for sure," Sasuke answered, keeping his guard up.

Kakashi watched the two as they began to fight over where they were. Suddenly, a faint noise hit his ears.

"Did you hear that?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"It kinda sounded a scream?" Naruto answered, turning his head in small semicircles

The group turned in the direction they thought they heard it come from.

"Let's try to find the source," Anko declared, heading in the direction they had looked.

"Alright! We're finally getting somewhere!" Naruto announced happily as he followed quickly behind Anko.

"Come on," Kakashi told Sasuke, patting his shoulder than going on ahead.

Sasuke stood still for a few seconds, trying to locate the noise more accurately, but it was already long gone. He attacked himself on the inside for being immature and arguing with Naruto.

* * *

**Well, I hope that was all you hoped it to be! It was fun to write, and it almost got out of control there for a few scenes! Please tell me what you think :) The lack of reviews is actually worrying me a bit ^_^" I hope that isn't too insane of a request... forgive me if it is!  
**

**Thank you VERY much for reading and being patient with me y'all! Come back soon~ :) Till next time!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! c: It's been quite a while since I've updated this! But, I was trying to figure out exactly what to do with it... and to remember what I was doing with it! So, here it is, the next chapter :) Sorry ya had to wait so long, but I hope it was well worth the wait! I had to do a bit of research with exact positioning of places, and I hope the time doesn't seem to short for the distance, but trying to figure out lengths of time and also with different time... yeah... so! Hope you enjoy this chapter :D Thank ya for reading, being patient, and enjoying ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters**

* * *

"It kinda sounded like a scream?" Naruto answered, turning his head in small semicircles.

The group turned in the direction they thought they heard it come from.

"Let's try to find the source," Anko declared, heading in the direction they had looked.

"Alright! We're finally getting somewhere!" Naruto announced happily as he followed quickly behind Anko.

"Come on," Kakashi told Sasuke, patting his shoulder than going on ahead.

Sasuke stood still for a few seconds, trying to locate the noise more accurately, but it was already long gone. He attacked himself on the inside for being immature and arguing with Naruto.

* * *

Kakashi, Anko, Sasuke and Naruto ran quietly in the direction they believed the noise to have come from. However, after not hearing it again, they dismissed it as a bird. They no longer knew where they were, they had strayed too far from their original path.

Naruto looked around, distress entering his eyes as he came to the realization he didn't know where they were. Sasuke tried to pinpoint their location by looking at the trees and ground to see if he recognized it, but it was to no avail.

"Where are we?" Naruto groaned, trying to stay brave.

"I think we are starting to head in the direction of the rock village," Anko answered, gathering information from her surroundings.

"I believe that to be so, but it's dangerous to stay here too long," Kakashi said quietly, bending over slightly to use the tree cover.

"I thought for sure that we had finally heard something and we had finally figured it out," Naruto complained as he fell into step behind Kakashi.

Sasuke glanced at his complaining teammate and looked around again. He wanted to know where exactly they were, and he couldn't help but to feel as if they were being watched.

They continued on the same path for what felt like hours before they finally made it back to the original path. They were no longer heading in the direction of the Rock Village. However, they had strayed so far from their original path that they lost much time with their search.

"Arrgh! This is really annoying! Stupid noise! Why did we even have to hear it?!" Naruto complained.

"Looks like we'll have to pass through the Village Hidden in the Rain, we have to be careful though, it's extremely dangerous there. They keep little to no communication with us, and they are a threat," Kakashi said as they walked closer to the borders.

They all nodded and began to quietly walk, not wanting to alert anyone of their presence.

~Sakura~

Sakura shook violently as she recounted the number of times she had tried to dodge the incoming attacks. Itachi had spoken the truth when he had said that they would break her and she would never risk telling their plans.

She tried to push the pain into the back of her mind and tried to forget the horrors that they had made her go through. Sakura knew very well that they had come close to murdering her, but the strong voice of the leader kept it from happening.

"If only I knew more medical ninjutsu, and more ways of attacking," Sakura cursed to herself as she tried to heal some of the minor wounds.

They had allowed Kisame to carry her back to Itachi's room once they were through with her. However, she felt violated and hurt as Kisame showed no care when he roughly picked her up.

"Will you tell?" a voice came from the shadows of the room.

"No, cause if I do, that will only happen again, right?" Sakura responded, hissing in pain as she put too much pressure on a wound.

"Exactly. You're a smart girl, you've learned your lesson," the voice told her.

"Shut… uh, the door," Sakura said, catching herself so she wouldn't insult the low voice.

"It's already closed," he responded quietly.

She bit her tongue as she tried hard not to insult the man. She focused entirely on healing her wounds. Suddenly, she felt a cool touch on her shoulder. She glanced back in fear, having not realized the presence had moved closer.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," he said, urging her to relax.

"What do you want, Itachi?" Sakura said angrily, not understanding what he was doing.

"I can't just be in my room?" Itachi asked, curious as to what the young girl would say.

"No! I mean, yes. No, I mean no! You touched me! Why?!" Sakura demanded, confusion pouring out from her.

"So, I can't be in my room," Itachi concluded after listening for a few seconds longer.

"No, you can't!" Sakura agreed.

"Too bad," Itachi answered, giving a small chuckle of amusement at her answer.

Sakura glared at him for a few minutes before realizing that it was in fact his room and that she had no control over what he did. Upon realization, she huffed and turned away.

Itachi gave a bit more of a laugh as he turned her around to face him, saying, "Now listen, tomorrow you will be returned to your village. But, they cannot see these wounds on you. Kisame and I are going to take you to a healer near here, and she will fix your wounds. Understand?"

Sakura nodded in anger as she was so close to freedom yet so far away. Then she realized that Itachi had not taken part in her attack.

"Why?" she burst out with suddenly.

"Why what?" Itachi asked, confused.

"Why did you not attack me with everyone else?"

Itachi looked at her for a few seconds, pondering what exactly to say, before he answered, "I had to go find a healer for you. It was in our plans to hurt you and then heal you, but none of us have medical ninjutsu. That is why I was not there."

Sakura could tell he was lying, and she wanted to know the real reason, but she figured she should not push her luck. She nodded as if she understood and she had believed his lie.

After a few moments of comforting silence, Kisame burst through the door.

"I don't really like the sudden change of plans. Having to find a healer was troublesome. Whose idea was it that we even let the girl be healed!? Why couldn't we just return her with wounds? Then they would at least think she was attacked and got free!" Kisame complained and ranted as he looked at Sakura.

Itachi gave him a cold glance that was urging Kisame to shut his mouth, but Sakura already knew more than enough. She realized quickly that it must have been Itachi who suggested that she be healed, and she hoped Kisame's reasoning didn't make Itachi think otherwise.

"I don't know the answer to those questions Kisame, but maybe we you can convince the leader to allow for a few of her wounds to go unhealed. After all, you made the good point of it could make it look like she got lucky and escaped," Itachi told Kisame in an even tone.

"Good! I'm going to go ask the leader about it," Kisame answered with a malicious tone.

"Very well," Itachi responded as he watched Kisame walk away.

After minutes of waiting, Kisame came back to the room wearing a sharp-toothed grin.

"The leader agreed with us. The healer will fix some of her more major wounds and allow a couple to go untreated. Once Tsunade receives her student back, she'll heal the girl the rest of the way, no doubt."

Itachi nodded and picked Sakura up. She felt a bit weak as they had gave her the bare minimum to make sure she survived, and she allowed them to carry her away. They ran quickly and made excellent time as they arrived on the border of the Wind Country within a few hours.

Once there, a shady looking woman met them. She had no defining features and Sakura had never seen the woman in her life, but she scared Sakura. The woman commented that her healing was nowhere near the level of Tsunade's, but she felt as if she could accomplish the demands of the Akatsuki.

It took the woman hours to fix most of the major wounds on Sakura, and it occurred to Sakura that it was a miracle she was alive. She thought about how the wounds had begun to fester with infection and how she had lost a massive amount of blood, she was lucky to be alive.

Once the woman was done, Itachi and Kisame thanked her quickly and allowed her to disappear over the horizon before they moved once more.

Itachi spoke to Sakura for the first time in hours, "We're going to take you to just outside the Sand Village. If our Intel is right, Kakashi and a small team should be heading there as we speak. We don't know their exact position, but they should find you. We'll leave it to you to make up the story of your escape."

Sakura nodded in angered agreement. She was upset with how easily their plans were coming together and how hard it would be for her to escape their grasp. As she listened she realized that they had a lot of resources for gathering Intel, and she should be very careful.

They took her to just the spot where they had described, and left her there, presumably to die if Kakashi didn't come that way. She sat quietly, planning what to do next.

~Team 7~

"We'll arrive at the border of the Wind Country soon, keep a look out," Kakashi advised them.

"Thank goodness nobody saw us while were in the Village Hidden in the Rain!" Naruto sighed in relief.

"Yes, we were extremely lucky, let's get going. Maybe the Sand Village will have some information on the Akatsuki," Anko said to them as she followed close beside Kakashi.

They nodded and ran as fast as they could, but were having to stay at a steady pace so they would not run out of energy.

"I hope they have some sort of information," Sasuke said quietly, starting a race between himself and Naruto.

Kakashi didn't say a word to them, for he knew that it would get them there faster, if only by a few minutes. He hoped they had something.

* * *

**Well, that's that! I hope it was good :) I also want to let y'all know that I am doing NaNoWriMo again this year, and it may take me even longer this month for chapters... but, I'll try my best! It's just a lot to balance out ^^ Thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope you won't be able to wait for the next chapter :D Until next time~**


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